Rematch in the Game of Love
by Gone-to-Lunch-Indefinately
Summary: !HAITUS! College is a pretty tough place for the used-to-be tennis regular, Eiji Kikumaru, but what happens when a familiar face shows up? Will Eiji fall for her all over again? Or has someone else caught his attention? Sequal to Love of the Game.
1. Job Offer

**Here it is people. The long awaited sequel to ****Love of the Game****! I now give you the first chapter to ****Rematch in the Game of Love****!**

**Story Begins**

A strong gust of wind blew by, causing a young woman to loose a few papers in the process. Chasing after them, her dark locks of hair flying along with the wind, the woman tried desperately to grab at the twirling sheets of paper. It was only when a man—broad shouldered and tall in stature—clasped his hands around the flying papers that she was able to stop running and retrieve her runaway work. The young woman bowed, thanking the man repeatedly for his kind action, only making the man return her gratefulness with a wide smile. Taking this as a perfect time, I snapped the picture, letting my camera do the rest of the work as I smiled at the wonderful scene before me.

"Are you ever going to put that camera down, Fuji?"

I looked to my friend sitting across from me, before glancing back outside the window to where the people I had just photographed had been. They had gone their separate ways, their thoughts of each other probably already forgotten. Turning back to my friend, I put on a calm smile.

"Saa, I'm sorry about that, Saeki," I apologized, setting my camera down on the table before us, "You know how I get when I see a scene worth taking a picture."

Saeki smiled, nodding his head in agreement, "Yeah, I know. So I'm guessing you're pursuing the career as a photographer then?"

I nodded, my lasting smile never leaving my face once, "Yes, but I'm not sure what I want to be photographing for a living yet. I guess for now I'll just take pictures for the journalists' group back at school to make a bit of money."

"That's a pretty good idea," he said, taking a sip of the coffee he had bought upon entering the local café, "It should also give you time and experience to help you figure out what you want to do."

"What about you?" I asked, gently picking up my own cup of coffee, "How are your studies going? What was it you were going to do again; something with aquatics?"

"Marine biology," he corrected, giving me a small smirk, "And my studies are going fine."

"How's Oishi? He's in your class as well, right?"

"Oh, yeah, he's doing fine," Saeki replied, setting his cup down after finishing off the last drop. "He stayed back during his lunch break to catch up on the lessons he missed."

"Oh yes, that's right," I said, remembering how Oishi had been bed ridden for a few days now, "He had a minor case of the flu, hadn't he?"

"Yeah, but now that's he's a bit better he's back to his worrywart self. I swear, with the way he cares for people so much, maybe he should've became a doctor," Saeki laughed, causing me to chuckle along with him. Glancing at his watch, Saeki placed some money on the table next to his cup before standing, "Sorry, Fuji, but I have to get back to class now. It was nice talking to you again."

"Likewise," I said, waving a small goodbye before glancing at my own watch, "Saa, looks like it's time for me to get going as well."

Quickly finishing up the rest of my coffee, I set my payment down on the table just as Saeki had done. I stood silently, picking up my camera as I placed the strap around my neck allowing it to safely dangle. As I stepped out of the small coffee shop, I felt the chilling winter air blow by, ruffling at my brown hair. It was back to college for me.

----------

Taking my cell phone out of my pocket, I looked at the caller ID only to notice the familiar name of one of my instructors. I pressed 'ACCEPT', placing the phone to my ear as I greeted the person calling.

"Ah, Fuji, I'm sorry to be calling you on such short notice; especially after school hours." I recognized the familiar voice of my photography instructor. Questioning him on what he had wanted to talk about, I urged him to continue. "You see, I knew you were looking for a part time job so when I saw this ad for one in the paper, I immediately thought of you. How would you like to be a photographer for a small time newspaper?"

"That'd be great," I said, thanking my instructor many times over for telling me about this opportunity. I quickly took out a pen and paper so I could write down the information.

"All you have to do is go in for an interview and they'll see if you're up to par for the job," he explained after telling me where I could find the small company, "Of course, I believe the best student in class will more than exceed their expectations."

I chuckled, thanking him once more as we hung up. Tomorrow I would head to the company, first thing in the morning.

THE NEXT DAY

I had decided to walk to the small newspaper company, seeing that it was only a few blocks away from the small apartment building that I was currently residing in; I had a folder in my hands, the contents inside being a few sample pictures of what I can do. It was a chilly day outside on this winter morning so I tugged my scarf closer, enjoying the warmth that it brought along with it. Looking up at the clouds above, I could tell that we were nowhere near the weather being right enough for snow since there was nary a cloud in the sky.

My thoughts about the weather were soon interrupted as my cell phone rang. I answered, smiling a very rare true smile as I heard the voice of a close friend.

"Saa, good morning to you too, Oishi," I said, pressing the button to a crosswalk before walking forward, "Saeki told me that you're better now. How's class?"

I heard Oishi chuckle on the other side of the line. "It's all fine now. After staying back I've finally caught up with the rest of the class. Anyways, I was calling to tell you that there's going to be a little reunion this Monday for everyone. Just a small get together for everyone we knew back in Seigaku."

"Sounds like fun," I said, agreeing to go. I had been wondering how our friends had been doing ever since we moved onto college. It had been too long since I'd seen Ryoma, Momo, Kaidoh, or even Eiji.

Oishi told me where the reunion would be and we both said our goodbyes. Putting my cell phone back into my pocket, I opened the door to a small, one story building. I seemed to be in some sort of waiting area which was part of a bigger part of the office area. This was where I would be having my interview.

"Excuse me," I said, interrupting a young woman sitting at a desk from her reading. She glanced at me, asking if I had an appointment. "Yes, I do in fact."

She looked at me with a bored expression, pointing over to the chairs I had just passed by. "I'll send a message to Takada-san and see if he's ready for you. In the meanwhile, please sit there."

I nodded, thanking her as I turned to sit. As I turned, I noticed another person enter the waiting area, quickly striding her way to the front desk where I had just been.

"Excuse me miss," the young lady said in a soft voice, "I have an appointment with Takada-san. I'm under the name, Amagumo."

Turning in the young lady's direction, a look of pure curiosity settled on my features. I watched as the receptionist at the desk told the young lady the same thing she had told me. The young lady turned, walking to a seat that was two seats away from me. I turned as well, following her with my eyes. When she had finally settled into her seat, I decided to speak.

"Is that you, Tsuki-chan?"

The young lady's head turned to me in shock, charcoal eyes staring at me with slight confusion. I smiled, watching as realization hit her as she tucked a long strand of black hair behind her ear.

"Oh my gosh," she breathed, "Fuji."

**Chapter Ends**

**Whoa. Suspenseful beginning chapter, huh? Sorry it's short, but what can you expect of a introduction chapter? I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of ****Rematch in the Game of Love****.**

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: To the person who asked if she could be an OC in my story, could you please PM me the information about your character again? I accidently deleted it… My bad. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it's vital for my next chapter.**


	2. Remember the Past

**Hi everybody! I'm here with another chapter! Yay! :D By the way, thank you, Midnight Strawberry, for the info on your OC. After all, the story must go on!**

**Chapter Begins**

The interviews had long since ended and we would be called in a few days to see whether we had gotten the job we wanted or not. Meanwhile, Fuji and I were sitting in a small café, reminiscing about our lives so far while we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee; or rather, he had coffee while I stuck with hot cocoa, opting not to have any caffeine. I hadn't really heard of the place we were in, but apparently Fuji came here every so often for a nice cup of coffee or just to sit and relax while he waited for friends. It would definitely be a nice place for me to return to as well, now that Fuji had shown me the directions.

"I never knew you were interested in journalism," Fuji commented as we sat at a two person booth.

"You know, I never thought I'd be interested in it when one of my teachers in high school told me about it," I laughed, remembering the way the old woman had praised me as one of her best writers, "Honestly, back in high school I absolutely hated writing essays and reports."

"So your teacher made you change your feeling about writing then?" Fuji asked with a smile on his face.

I shook my head no, quickly remembering that Fuji always had a smile on, especially when he wanted to figure something out. "Actually, I guess I went into journalism because I really like telling stories. I figured journalism would be a way for me to tell people the stories that are happening around them in town."

He nodded, taking a sip of the steaming coffee he was holding in his hand. I took a small sip of my own drink, staring out the window at the heavy clouds looming above as the sweet taste of chocolate tantalized my taste buds. A small smile made its way to my features as I set my cup down. The hot cocoa was good, but it wasn't the best cup I ever had.

"What brought you to the small newspaper company?" I asked. That small question had been at the peak of my mind ever since I saw Fuji in the small waiting area; he never really looked like the journalist type back in school.

"Saa, my photography instructor recommended it." I mentally laughed; of course it would be for photography. "He said they were looking for people to photograph pictures for the articles in the paper."

"I should've known it would be for photography," I smiled, letting out a small, short laugh, "I remember back in Seigaku you would almost always have a camera with you, taking photos of every interesting thing you saw. You know, I never really thought the things you took pictures of were interesting, but hey, whatever floats your boat right?"

Fuji laughed along with me as a small wave of silence consumed us. Thinking about Seigaku for the first time in a really long time brought back many memories. My smile widened a bit as I thought about the good times I had during my stay in that small suburban home; all the people I met and all the things I did. The names of all the people I had befriended ran through my head, along with memories about them.

I remembered when I met Tsumi-chan and how she had gotten lost from her group at the carnival. The memory of us being chased by a pervert and having Kaidoh save us still stuck to my mind. It would be a moment I would never forget.

Thoughts of the first person I met, Momo, and how I had bumped into him in the hallway flashed through my head next. It was his fault that I met the tennis team, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

As one last name flowed through my mind, a small frown settled itself onto my face. I remembered the good and bad memories I had with him; our first meeting, ditching practice for the carnival, our struggle for friendship, walking through the park, and our last day together. It had been a while since I had talked to Eiji and I wondered what he was up to. I was about to ask Fuji, but was interrupted as he beat me to it.

"Saa, how have you and Eiji been doing?"

I frowned, wondering why he was asking me that. Maybe he had lost contact with Eiji as well?

"Actually, I was just about to ask you about Eiji," I said, watching as Fuji frowned slightly in confusion. He set his coffee cup down on the floor, prompting me to continue, "You see, I kind of lost contact with him shortly after our second year of high school. I don't know what happened—maybe he moved, maybe he just couldn't find the time—but our emails and phone calls just got farther and farther apart. Before I knew it, they stopped."

Fuji looked at me disappointedly as he sighed. "How unfortunate," he said, putting his cup to his lips as he took another sip before continuing, "I also haven't talked to him in a while, but not as long as you two have been out of contact. I wonder what happened."

I shrugged, letting a pregnant moment of silence consume us once more. Finishing off the last drop of my hot cocoa, I tried not to scald my tongue. Searching through the small purse at my side, I placed some money on the table and stood silently from my seat in the small booth. Saying that I had to be on my way, I watched as Fuji also finished off the last of his beverage, placing his payment on the table as we both left the small café.

"Do you need a ride, Fuji?" I asked once we had made it to my car. "I'm driving over to a local shopping center to meet one of my friends. It wouldn't be too much trouble if I made a little side stop, though."

"It's fine," Fuji replied, holding his head up in protest, "My apartment isn't too far from here. It wouldn't be any trouble at all for me to walk."

I frowned, shivering slightly as a cold breeze blew by us. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you walk home on a cold winter day like this?"

Fuji laughed, pulling his scarf a little closer as he stuffed his free hand into the pocket in his jacket. It made me wonder if he had lost that sadistic side to him throughout the years, but knowing Fuji, he was only hiding it away to torture someone on another day.

"I'll be fine," he said. I shrugged once more, opening my car door as I climbed into the warmth of my vehicle. As I turned the car on, I saw Fuji still standing next to the car, his smile never fading. "There's going to be a little reunion of team members on Monday. I believe Oishi is hosting it; you remember him. It would be nice of you to join us considering you were on the team at a point."

I grinned, nodding my head, "Of course I remember the mother hen of the team. And, sure, it sounds like a lot of fun. I'll see if I have time that day."

Taking out a small piece of paper and a pen, Fuji and I quickly exchanged phone numbers. We waved our goodbyes as he walked home and I started the engine to my car. I hoped I would be able to see all of my old friends again at this party, but most of all, I hoped I got to see Eiji again.

??? POV

Glancing at the time on my cell phone once more, I sighed slightly in aggravation. It had been at least fifteen minutes and I was still waiting for Tsuki to show up at our usual table in the food court. My stomach grumbled slightly and I searched through my bag, only to see that I had eaten the majority of my snack supply. I sighed, not really wanting to spend my money on the food they had in the food court.

"I'm really sorry I'm late."

I turned in the chair I was sitting at, watching as Tsuki walked over to me, a sheepish smile on her face. I found my own smile making it way onto my features, but quickly put on a fake pout.

"You should be sorry," I said as she pulled out a chair for her to sit down in, "You left me waiting for nearly fifteen minutes! And look at this!" I quickly opened my bag, showing her the contents inside. "I ran out of Pocky and Hello Pandas! You could've left me here to starve for all we know."

Tsuki sighed, smiling lightly at me. "Like I said, I'm really sorry. I bumped into an old friend and he treated me to some hot cocoa at a local café. I don't see how you could've starved though. You have plenty of money to buy something to eat."

"This is my shopping money, Tsuki," I said, completely ignoring the fact that she had gone somewhere to have hot cocoa without me, "I need it to buy clothes and Pocky and other important things!"

She sighed once more, pulling out some money from her wallet, "Fine, since I was the one who was late, I'll treat you to some lunch. What do you want to eat?"

I looked around the food court, seeing that they sold things from tacos to hotdogs, burgers to fries, sushi to barbecue, and much more. Nothing in particular really looked appealing to me though, so I settled with the one fall back option I always went with.

"I want something chocolaty," I said, twirling a lock of my dark brown hair around my finger.

"Miki, chocolate isn't something you eat for lunch. It's a dessert," Tsuki laughed, telling me to choose again or else she would pick something for me.

"Fine, fine, I'll have a burger," I said, watching as Tsuki stood from her seat to go buy our food. "And a chocolate shake!"

Tsuki laughed, agreeing to my last minute request. Watching for only a moment as she got into line to order, a small yelping noise caught my attention and I quickly looked in its direction. Across from the food court I could see a large neon sign reading 'PET SHOP'. Smiling to myself, I stood from my seat, figuring that Tsuki wouldn't miss me too much if I went to take a little peek at the animals inside. I quickly walked over to the store, entering its doors as a small bell attached at the top signaled that someone had arrived. From behind the counter, I could see a young man walk out, his smile bright as he looked at me.

"Welcome to Second Chance Pet's Shop, can I help you find a pet today?"

I smiled at the red head, shaking my head no, "No thank you. I'm just here to look around."

Walking over to where the kittens were happily playing around with each other, I stared in awe as they pounced on everything in sight. I placed a palm up to the glass, giggling as one of the kittens—a gray one with brown patches—pawed at my hand in an attempt to get through the glass. Another kitten came up to the glass—this one a dull orange—and started to paw at something as well. Looking to my left, I saw that it was the same guy who had greeted me at the doorway holding his palm up to the glass as well. I smiled, watching as his blue eyes danced as he stared at the kittens.

"So cute, nya," he murmured.

I nodded, taking my hand off the glass. Walking towards the entrance of the pet shop, I called out a goodbye to the stranger still standing near the kittens. He said his own goodbye, saying things I'm sure his boss had told him to say as I left. Walking back to the table I was at previously, I saw Tsuki sitting down with our food ready for us to eat.

"Where were you?" she asked, placing a fry into her mouth.

"I was looking at these really cute kittens over at that pet shop over there," I said, pointing at the shop across from us, "They were so adorable! I pressed my hand up to the glass at one of them started pawing at my hand—or at least tried to—and then I guess one of the workers came up and started doing that also."

Tsuki sighed, but nonetheless had a smile on her face, "Miki, we're in college now. When are you going to start acting your age?"

"When it starts being fun."

And with that, I sat down across from her, taking my share of the food as I proceeded to have my lunch.

**Chapter Ends**

"**Pregnant moment". I don't know why, but I've always wanted to use that phrase.  
And, oh? What's this? Who could be that mysterious red head Miki met in the pet shop? Hurrhurr, I hope you all have good guesses! By the way, Miki isn't mine.  
Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! See you in the next chapter of ****Rematch in the Game of Love****.**


	3. Reunion

**Sorry for the long wait. Of course, the only excuse I have is school. We all know how that is right?**

**Chapter Begins**

As the day went by, I slowly found myself anxiously waiting for class to end. I had caught myself fidgeting, chewing my pencil, and any other bad habit I could think of that I did when I was waiting for something to happen. Occasionally I would glance at the clock on the far wall, but being in the back of the classroom made it a tad hard for me to see what time it was. Most of the time, I would casually lean over in my seat, quietly asking my peer for the time, to which he would reply after glancing at his watch. After a few repeated moments of this, I could tell he was getting annoyed with my pestering.

"Sorry Hiroshi," I apologized when he asked why I had been pestering him about the time again, "I'm just a bit anxious today. I'm going to meet up with some friends I haven't seen since middle school."

Hiroshi smiled at me halfheartedly, nodding as he accepted my apology. He glanced at his watch again, reading off the time, "Don't ask me again though; I need to finish up this paper. Besides, we only have a few more minutes of class."

I said my thanks to him again, turning back to my own paper on my desk. I had finished it only a few minutes ago, my chicken scratch handwriting seeming readable. While I waited for class to end, I decided to proofread my paper, making sure I hadn't made any spelling or grammatical errors. Taking out my eraser, I silently thanked myself for deciding to write in pencil today.

"I don't think that's supposed to be spelled that way."

I looked up, watching as Hiroshi pointed at my paper with a smug grin. Swatting his hand away, I erased the word he was pointing at and rewrote it, checking the spelling twice to make sure it was correct. I glanced at him again, watching him read over my paper.

"Is there anything else I can fix for you, Spelling King?" I said sarcastically.

Shaking his head, Hiroshi turned his eyes back to his own paper, "Nothing else seems to be misspelled or out of place, so no. And, Spelling King? What are you; a second grader?"

I shrugged, "Making fun of you in a childish way adds a little spice to everyday life."

Just when Hiroshi was about to retort with a snide comment, the bell rang, signaling for the end of class. The shrill sound echoed throughout the hallways of the university, along with the happy sound of chatting college students and tired teachers. Standing up from my desk, I grabbed my stuff and strolled to the front of the classroom. I placed my paper in a small pile on the front desk, nodding a goodbye to my professor as he too started to pack his things for a long rest at home. Once I was out of the classroom and into the hallway, I slipped my cell phone out of my bag, searching my phonebook for Fuji's number. It quickly came up and I soon found myself pressing the call button.

"Hello," I heard a voice from the other end of the phone line say.

"Hi Fuji," I said happily, "It's Tsuki. I just got out of class and was wondering where the reunion was being held. I don't want to get lost, now do I?"

I laughed at my small joke, making my way through the crowds of people in the hallway so I could make my way to the parking lot outside. On the other side of the phone line, I could hear Fuji chuckle lightly. I could also hear the faint noises of people shuffling around and setting things down everywhere.

"Are you already there?" I asked, curious as to what the noises were.

"Yeah, I wanted to get here early to help Oishi set up," Fuji replied, "Anyways, do you know remember the small café I took you to the last time we saw each other?"

I nodded, but quickly realized that he couldn't see it, "Yeah, I remember."

"Oishi's apartment is a couple of blocks away from there, go straight for two street signs and turn left. He's the first apartment home you see," Fuji explained, "You should be able to recognize it right away, but if you still get lost, just give me another call."

"Okay, thanks Fuji. I'll see you all soon."

Ending the call, I placed my phone back into my bag and took out my car keys instead, pressing a small button as I unlocked the door to my car. I slowly slid into my car, shutting the door behind me and placing the keys into the ignition. Glancing in my rearview mirror, I carefully backed out of my parking space and started driving on my way to Oishi's apartment.

Fuji's POV

Placing my cell phone back into my pocket, I turned my attention back to what I was doing earlier. I grabbed a plate full of food, carefully walking to Oishi's dining table, and set the multitude of finger foods onto the wooden surface for the rest of our old team to snack off of. Turning around, I was met face to face with the mother hen hosting the party, a small smile on his face.

"Did you invite somebody, Fuji?" He asked, his smile looking to be one of curiosity, "Maybe a girlfriend from your college?"

"It's nothing like that Oishi," I replied, "I did invite somebody along though."

"Oh," he said, going back to preparing things for the reunion with a smile, "Who is it? Do we know her from Seigaku?"

"We all know her," I replied, a smirk replacing the gentle smile I usually had. I didn't bother saying who it was and Oishi noticed this, taking note that I would rather keep Tsuki a secret from everybody until she came. If I was lucky, she would be the last to arrive.

"Well at least it's someone we all know," Oishi said as he placed a couple more plates next to the one I had set down, "It should be interesting seeing another person from Seigaku."

Our small conversation was interrupted when the doorbell to Oishi's apartment rang, telling us that someone was at his front door. Volunteering to answer it, I made my way to the entrance and opened the door wide, recognizing two very familiar faces.

"Fuji-sempai, it's nice seeing you again," Momo said, greeting me with a big smile. Beside him, Kaidoh waved, his head low. "It's been a long time since I've been able to call you 'sempai', but it just seems to come naturally."

"It's nice to see you too, Momo, Kaidoh," I chuckled, stepping aside as I let them enter into Oishi's home, "It certainly has been awhile. Did you two arrive together?"

"What? Me, arrive with this snake?" Momo said, offended, "Of course not! We just happened to arrive here at the same time! I would never be caught going anywhere with him."

"And you're one to talk!?" Kaidoh retorted angrily.

Soon a verbal fight caught on between the two. I sighed, smiling to myself as I remembered how they used to do this back in our middle school days. I was surprised to see that they hadn't changed one bit.

Turning back to glance around outside the front door, I noticed a car pull up the sidewalk in front of Oishi's home, the passenger door opening to reveal an older Inui. He turned in his seat, thanking whoever was driving the car, before stepping out and walking up to the front door. I raised a hand as a gesture of welcome, stepping aside once more to let him in.

"Fuji," he nodded as a greeting, his thick glasses still obscuring his eyes, "It's good to see you again."

"You too Inui," I said, closing the door once I was sure nobody else was waiting outside.

I walked with Inui to the kitchen of Oishi's apartment, the both of us watching as Oishi finally finished preparing the rest of the food. He glanced around the small area he was in, frowning at the mess that surrounded him.

"I hope I made enough for everyone that's coming," he said in that worrying tone of his, "If not, we could always head out and go somewhere to eat."

"Saa, it should be enough," I said, calming Oishi down as I grabbed the last two plates of food from the counter, "I'll go set these down on the table and we'll wait for the rest of the group to come."

Oishi nodded, leading Inui out of his messy kitchen and into the living room where Momo and Kaidoh had moved their quarrel to. As I placed the plates down on the table in what little available space there was, the doorbell rang once more. I could see Oishi stand from his seat on his couch, striding over to answer it. I frowned, hoping that it wasn't Tsuki so that I could keep the small surprise a surprise. To my relief, I heard the familiar kind voice of Taka-san at the door.

"It's good seeing you again, Taka-san," Oishi greeted, leading his next guest to the same place all his other ones were seated at.

I walked into the living room, greeting Taka-san with a warm smile as he waved at me. "Now all we're waiting for is two more people," I commented.

Momo looked at me curiously, "What are you talking about Fuji? Both Tezuka and Ryoma don't live here anymore, so the only one we should be waiting for is Eiji, right?"

I chuckled once more, putting a finger up to my lips in a hushing motion, "You'll have to see who the mystery guest is once everyone arrives."

Momo pouted, about ready to ask more questions when he was interrupted by a person knocking at the front door. I stood silently, ushering Oishi back down into his seat so he could rest and stop worrying about things so much. I walked over to the front door, opening it up to reveal Seigaku's old acrobatic player.

"Fujiko, it's been a long time since I've seen you," he said cheerfully, "I almost feel like we've grown apart. It's been forever since I've talked with you."

"I feel the same," I said, placing a sincere smile onto my face. I looked at him with an amused look, pointing to the doorbell, "Why did you knock when there was a doorbell right there? We would be most likely to hear the doorbell than your knocking. Who knows how long you could've been standing out here?"

Eiji looked at the doorbell, his eyes widening, "I didn't know that was there! I guess I wasn't really looking."

We both laughed and I led him inside, sitting down with the rest of the gang. Soon, we all started talking about our lives now and how we've all changed since our time in Seigaku. Momo and Kaidoh were freshman in their college, just starting out and not knowing what to do with the rest of their lives. Taka-san was planning on taking over his father's sushi shop, but still decided to go to school just in case he finds something else he might want to do. It was interesting hearing Oishi tell us about his studies; it was almost a bit too obvious to all of us that he would want to me a marine biologist. Of course I told my small tale about wanting to be a photographer. Though, when asked what he would be doing in the future, Eiji merely stared at all of us with a blank look.

"You guys are so good at knowing what you want to do," he said, a frown on his face, "I haven't even decided yet! Right now I'm just getting by with a part time job at a pet shop."

"You have to figure out what you're going to do sometime, Eiji," Oishi said, giving his old doubles partner a worried smile, "What are you majoring in?"

"History," Eiji answered, point blank. His eyes widened a bit in realization, "Ne, but I don't want to follow my father's footsteps! I want to major in something different now, nya!"

We all laughed as Eiji complained about his possible future as a history teacher, his hand flailing about in an exaggerating motion. Our laughter and enjoyment was all soon cut off as the silent ring of a cell phone echoed through the air. Hand going to my pocket, I wondered if Tsuki had really gotten lost as I had expected she would. Unfortunately, it wasn't my phone ringing.

Tsuki's POV

Squinting through the window, I watched as the street sign I was looking for passed by. I smiled to myself, eyes focusing on the road as I tried to look for a sign that would tell me where the reunion was being held. Pressing lightly on the break peddle, I came to a stop at a red light in the left turn lane. Drumming my fingers on the steering wheel a bit impatiently, I felt a feeling of overwhelming relief wash over me when the light finally turned green. As I turned the corner, I cautiously looked around for Oishi's house. A red car pulling out of a driveway caught my attention as it drove the way I had just come; it had pulled out of the driveway I was looking for, luckily for me. Pulling into a parking spot, I excitedly got out of my car and skipped my way up to what I presumed to be Oishi's front door. I knocked three times, hoping that I wasn't too late for the party.

"Ah, Tsuki-chan, it's nice to see you again," Fuji smiled as he opened the door wide for me.

"I saw you only a few days ago," I commented, laughing a bit as I stepped into the welcoming atmosphere of the apartment, "But it's still good to see you too, Fuji."

He nodded, leading me through a hallway. From where I was standing, I could hear the loud laughter of who I could only guess to be Momo, and the soft, happy voices of Taka-san and Oishi. My smile widened further when they went completely silent, watching as Fuji and I walked through the small doorway that led into Oishi's living room.

"Hey guys," I said, a hand in the air as I waved, "Long time no see, huh?"

**Chapter Ends**

**I wonder whose phone was the one that was ringing. Hmm, maybe we'll figure it all out in the next chapter, ne? Until next time, stay what? DRUG FREE! All day, all night, alright! (That's how my school's announcements end, heehee!)**


	4. Mystery Girl

**Slow updates bringing you down? Well, you lived through the first story and that took me three years! You'll live through this one sure enough!**

**Chapter Begins**

I watched on in amusement as some of the confused faces dissolved into ones of happiness as my once former teammates slowly recognized who I was. Of course, it came to no surprise to me when Momo quickly opened his mouth, his eyes still showing his confusion as he asked the one question they all wanted to ask upon first seeing me.

"Hey, Fuji-sempai, is she your girlfriend or something?"

I gave Momo a deadpanned look, causing his expression to twist more into confusion as he thought over where he had seen me before. I looked around the room seeing that he was the only one there still pondering it over; all the others had already figured who I was.

"Honestly Momo," I sighed in a questioning tone as I placed a hand to the back of my neck, "You were the first one I met back in Seigaku. It would've been nice if you were the first one to recognize me."

The guys chuckled at Momo's still confused nature as I sat down across from him. Crossing one leg over the other, I stared silently at him as he sifted through his memory, trying hard to remember if he's ever seen me before. I twirled a strand of hair around my finger, wondering if I had really changed so much that he wouldn't recognize me. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, pointing at me with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"I know who you are," he said confidently, "You were that one girl in my science class!"

"I wasn't in any of your classes," I groaned, giving up on him as I finally told him who I was, "I'm Tsuki! You know, the girl who bumped into you on her way to class and you decided to introduce her to your two friends, Fuji and Eiji, since they were in my class?"

Momo went silent for a couple of seconds before he burst out laughing, "Of course I knew it was you, Tsuki-sempai!"

Momo stood up, walking over to me as he ruffled my hair slightly. His loud laughs clued me in that he was only lying about knowing who I was, but I decided to let it slide as I glanced around the room at the rest of the people at the little get together. All the friendly faces I had known in one point of life had all changed in one way or another, all of them maturing to fit the age they were at now. I felt the feeling of nostalgia coming over me as I remembered all the good memories behind those smiles.

"Hey," I said, noticing something off about our group of friends, "People are missing. Are we still waiting for them?"

"Normally we would be, but not this time," Oishi explained, "You see, Tezuka and Ryoma no longer live in Tokyo anymore."

I nodded, wondering to myself where they had moved to and what they might be doing now. "What about Eiji? He didn't move anywhere, did he?" I asked, noticing that the bubbly redhead I once knew wasn't in the room. It would really kill my mood if he had moved without me knowing.

"Saa, no, he hasn't moved," Fuji said, sporting a barely noticeable frown; he knew it was important for me to see Eiji again today, "He was here earlier, but his boss called saying that they were one person short at his job so he had to go in."

I frowned, sighing softly at my missed chance to meet Eiji once more. A lone hand on my shoulder made me turn to Oishi, his soft smile reassuring me.

"I'm sure he would've tried to stay if he knew you were coming."

I nodded, smiling once more as I stood up, "Enough of this now, let's get this party started!"

Eiji's POV

Turning away from the customer in front of me, I sneezed into my arm. I laughed lightheartedly as I turned back to the young woman at the counter, continuing to ring up the items she was trying to make a purchase for.

"Sorry about that. Maybe I'm coming down with a cold," I told her, noticing the many items she was buying. They all seemed to be items a new pet owner would buy, "Did you recently get a new pet?"

"Yeah," she said, twisting a strand of honey blonde hair behind her ear as she smiled at me, "I just got a darling little Maltese. She's such a sweet little puppy, very cheery and playful."

I smiled, nodding as I rung up the last of her items, placing them into a plastic bag next to me. After telling her the total for her items and giving her change back, I gave her a polite, curt nod as my smiled widened slightly.

"Thank you for coming to Second Chance Pet's Shop. Please do come back if you have any questions about animal care or if you're just in need for some supplies," I paused, turning to sneeze again before waving a cheerful goodbye to my customer.

"Thank you, I think I will come back." She looked at me with hazel eyes, smiling softly as she made her way out the door. "And don't be so sure that you're coming down with a cold. Someone might just be talking about you."

I stared as she walked out the door, thinking about her words. Who would be talking about me at a time like this? My thoughts were soon interrupted as the sound of a person clearing their throat reached my ears. Turning to see one of my coworkers, I smiled when I noticed it was the person I had been filling in for.

"Hey Eiji," he said, ushering me out of his work space, "I know you like your job and all, but you can go ahead and leave now. Sorry for being late in the first place."

"Ne, it was no problem," I said, smiling at my coworker, "This place is pretty fun to work in! So many cute things to see!"

He smirked at me, nodding a bit as he looked at the door my previous customer had exited from. "Yeah," he agreed, "Although not many of them come through here that often, there are some cute ones to see in here."

I looked at him with confused eyes. "What do you mean? They come in here all the time," I said, referring to all the cute animals that always come through the small pet store, "They come at least twice a week."

He looked at me with wide, surprised eyes. "Man, Eiji, maybe we should switch shifts one of these days then, huh? They never come in when I'm here."

I nodded, agreeing to let him switch with me one of these days as I took off the apron I was required to wear for work. Placing the bright red apron onto a hanger in the back room, I sifted through the locker assigned to me and grabbed my bag and car keys. Waving a goodbye to all of my coworkers still left in the pet shop, I checked my watch to see that I still had some time left to catch the end of Oishi's little get together party. Maybe if I drove fast enough, I would be able to get some of the delicious food I saw before any of them eat it all.

"Yosh, now all I have to do is find my car," I said, stepping out to the shopping center's parking lot, "Ne, where did I park it again?"

Placing a hand over my eyes to shield them from the blinding sun, I searched the large parking lot for my little red car. I easily spotted it between two black SUVs, making me chuckle quietly to myself; it was like I was being escorted by the CIA. I looked both ways, making sure there were no oncoming vehicles as I walked across the parking lot to my car. Parked in front of me, I noticed the honey blonde woman I had been helping only a few minutes ago at the pet shop. I watched as her hazel eyes looked up to me and she instantly smiled, stepping forward towards me.

"On a break already," she asked, gesturing to the car keys I still held in my hand, "Either you're a really great employee, or an extremely lazy person."

I laughed, waving my hands in front of my face, "No, I was just covering for another employee since he was late. Now that he's there I was allowed to leave."

She smiled, nodding at my answer as she stared at my little red car. "You go to the local college, right?" She asked, a single brow rising, "A history major, right?"

I nodded enthusiastically, "Yup, how did you know that?"

"I'm a history major as well. We're in the same class." She reached a hand towards me, softly twirling a strand of my hair around her finger which caused me to blush lightly. "It's kind of hard not to notice you. I guess I just never really felt the need to speak to you until now." Releasing the lock of hair she had coiled around her finger, she turned back to her own car and unlocked the driver door. "Anyways, I should be getting back home now to take care of my little puppy. I'll see you around okay?"

I nodded, unable to form any words with my mouth. My eyes followed her car for a while as she drove silently out of her parking spot and away from the shopping center. When I finally snapped back to attention, I noticed that my mouth had opened slightly and there was a light blush on my face. Blaming it on the cold winter weather, I shook my shocked expression off my face and turned to my own car, unlocking it so I could slip into the warm interior. I touched the strand of hair that the woman had twirled around her finger, my blush returning once more.

"Ne, I didn't even get to know her name!" I frowned, determined to find out the mystery girl's name the next time I went to my class.

Putting that thought aside, I quickly put my keys into the ignition and switched on my car. After all, I still had a party I had to hurry to. Pressing my foot against the gas peddle, I made my way out of the parking lot and started my short drive to Oishi's apartment.

Fuji's POV

"I should probably be on my way right about now."

I looked over at Tsuki, watching as she glanced at both her watch and the clock hanging up on Oishi's wall. She stood up, dusting off imaginary pieces of dust and crumbs off of her clothing as she smiled at us all. I also glanced at the clock, noticing that it wasn't at all that late. Glancing out the window that was besides me, I noticed that the sun wasn't setting at all and that the sky had only grown a few shades darker than it was a couple of hours ago.

"Leaving us so early Tsuki-sempai?" Momo asked, the crumbs from his food still on his face.

She laughed, pointing at his face to give him a little hint. "I'm sorry, but I have to study for this major test I have in a couple of days. It was nice seeing you all again after so many years. We should keep in touch more often."

We all agreed as she gave us a short wave, turning to walk out the front door to the apartment. I watched out the window as she slipped into her car and drove away. Turning back to the conversations that were going on with the rest of the group, I failed to notice a red car pulling up into the once empty parking space. When the unexpected knock had interrupted the conversations, Oishi stood up to answer the door.

"Oh, Eiji, you're back!"

Hearing Oishi state the redhead's name made me groan inwardly as I watched them enter the living room. It was like Eiji and Tsuki were purposely avoiding each other.

"Hey Eiji-sempai," Momo said happily, "You should've got here earlier! Then you would have been able to—"

"Have more food," I interrupted Momo.

Everyone but Eiji looked at me suspiciously, their eyes a bit wary at my intentions to hide that Tsuki was here. I simply smiled at them, thinking that it would be better for the both of them if Eiji found out Tsuki was here on his own.

"What? Did Momo eat them all?"

With that said, Eiji immediately ran over to the table filled with food and the rest of the party ensued.

**Chapter Ends**

**They missed each other again… Twice! In one day! How unlucky is that folks? Oh well, until next time! See you all around!**


	5. Study Date

**Hey everybody, in case you haven't noticed by now, I start every chapter (aside from the first chapter) in Tsuki's POV. I just want to clear this up right away before the story gets confusing. Anyways, I'm sorry for the extremely long pauses between updates. I'm a lazy person.**

**Chapter Begins**

"You mean he was there right after I left?"

The sadistic chuckling voice on the other end of the phone line told me that my inquiry was true and that I had, in fact, missed seeing Eiji twice in one day. I groaned loudly, putting a hand to my temple as I massaged it lightly. I could already feel an oncoming headache; not from the fact that I had missed Eiji yet again, but from the homework that was sitting in front of me on my desk for me to finish. I wondered if Fuji had told Eiji whether I was there or not, voicing my question to the tensai as I scribbled on the paper before me with my favorite pencil.

"Saa, I thought it'd be best if he found out you were here by himself," Fuji replied; I could already see the sadistic smile on his face.

"So you never told him then," I stated, a slight questioning tone to my voice. "How am I supposed to tell him I'm here now?"

"We'll figure something out," Fuji assured me, his sincerity seeping out through his voice, "Anyways, this wasn't the main reason I called you. I called to inform you that Takada-san wants to meet us both tomorrow at noon."

I nodded my head tiredly before realizing that Fuji wouldn't be able to see me through my phone, "Um, okay, I'll be there." Eyes drooping slightly, I glanced at the alarm clock I had set atop my desk right next to my lamp; it had only been half an hour since I returned from college. "Ah, I think I'm going to take a nap before I start on my homework. I'll talk to you tomorrow Fuji."

I paused for a couple of seconds, waiting as Fuji said his own goodbyes before I finally shut my phone, ending the conversation. I shoved my phone—along with a few papers—to the far side of my desk as I stood from my chair. Walking a few feet away from my desk, I flopped heavily onto my bed, bouncing slightly on my mattress. I rolled onto my back, staring up at the roof of my small apartment before shifting my eyes to stare outside the window at the dark gray clouds looming above. Watching the winter wind blow things around outside slowly, but surely lulled me to sleep, a thick fog clouding my mind as I drifted off to dreamland.

Eiji's POV

It had been nearly an hour since the final bell of the day had rang, but I was still at my college, my eyes glued to a book as I sat in a comfortable chair that resided in the huge library we had. I sighed slightly to myself, my frustration only growing when I turned the page, only to find that the font seemed to be getting smaller; at least, that's what my tired mind was telling me. Placing a bookmark between the pages I was at, I quietly closed the book, deciding that I would have better luck studying if I was in my own apartment, sitting in my own chair.

'_Hn, maybe I should see if there's another book I can study with,' _I thought, standing up from the armchair I was in and walking over to the tall bookshelves filled with books about history.

Eyes scanning through the many titles surrounding me, my mind wandered as I thought about the girl I had met yesterday at the pet shop. I remembered the honey blonde hair that seemed to curl around her face nicely, her wide hazel eyes that seemed to gleam in the daylight, and her thin pink lips, curled into a cute smile. A light, pink blush found its way to my face as I found myself wondering why I hadn't bothered speaking to her after class today; maybe I had just forgotten she was there until now.

Shaking off the blush that had seemed to consume my face in a matter of seconds, I decided that there was no other book I could use to study. As I turned to walk back down the aisle of books, I failed the notice the honey blonde girl I was just about to bump into.

"Gomen, gomen," I apologized repeatedly, glancing up at the person I had bumped into, "Ah, it's you!"

She looked at me with wide, surprised eyes, the familiar blonde locks bouncing around as she did a slight double take. Once her mind had finally settled, she gave me a soft smile, her hazel eyes seeming to peer through my own cerulean ones. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she shifted so that the books she was holding in her arms wouldn't fall to the floor.

"Well now, I thought you were avoiding me when you suddenly dashed out of class today," she laughed quietly, stooping low to pick up my book that I had just noticed I'd dropped, "Looks like your plan didn't work out too well."

"I wasn't trying to avoid you," I said a bit loudly, covering my mouth when the librarian that just so happened to walk by shushed me, "I mean, I was trying to get out of class quickly so I could come here to study, but I didn't want it to seem like I'm avoiding you. In fact, I kind of… forgot you were in my class."

I mumbled out the last part, placing my hand behind my neck as I rubbed a sore muscle there. I watched her warily, not knowing how she would react to my small confession. I mentally let out a little sigh of relief when I saw that she continued smiling at me, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if her smile was real or not.

What am I talking about? This girl isn't Fuji. There's no way she could be hiding anything behind that cute, innocent smile of hers.

"…was wondering if I could borrow this."

I snapped back to attention, my gaze quickly finding her eyes again after they had wandered to places; what could I say, I am a guy after all, "Uh, what was that? I wasn't paying attention, gomen…"

I could see her smile widen a bit, "I was just saying how I kind of need this book to study tonight for the test that we're supposed to have a couple days from now," she said, lifting up the book I had previously been looking through, "so I was wondering if I could borrow it, that is, if you're done with it."

I frowned, looking at the books she had in her hands. Weren't those enough books to study with? "Ne, well, that's kind of the only book I have to study with and I was just about to go check it out at the front desk."

"Oh, well we can share it then," she said a bit happily, shifting all the books in one hand to the other, "I know this cute little coffee shop that's close to here. We can study together and get a cup of coffee while we're at it."

"Well I don't really like coffee but—"

"Could you hold onto these for me?" She said, dumping about half of the books in her hands into my own. I stumbled a bit under their weight, shifting the bag on my back a bit so I could gain my balance again. "Come on now, we have to actually check all these books out before we can even go to the coffee shop."

I shuffled after her, concentrating my eyes onto the back of her head so they wouldn't wander anywhere else. When we made it to the checkout desk, I dumped the books in my hands onto the counter, earning a glare from the librarian behind the desk. She mumbled out a few words that were inaudible to my ears as she stamped each book for a due date. I was about to shuffle through my bag for my library card when the honey blonde girl that had dragged me along with her shoved hers hurriedly onto the desk. My eyes quickly glanced at her card, searching for any sign that she had written her name on it.

"Oh, so your name is Yuko," I said as we walked away from the counter with all the books in hand.

She nodded, showing off her white teeth with another bright smile, "Yep, and your name is Eiji." I was about to ask her how she knew my name, but she was already answering my unspoken question. "I saw it on your nametag yesterday and thought there was a good chance that it was your name. My suspicions were confirmed when our professor called your name is class today."

I nodded, slowing my pace down once we were outside the library. I looked at the books in my hands, wondering how I ended up carrying all of these when I only wanted to check out one in the first place. I wondered whose car we were going to be taking to the coffee shop Yuko mentioned, or if we were just going to be driving to it in our separate cars. I was about to voice my questions, but Yuko beat me to the punch.

"Come on Eiji, it'll be easier if we just use my car since I know where the place is."

With that said, I followed her to her car, groaning quietly to myself when I saw that it was a small, pink beetle convertible.

Miki's POV

I sighed, walking along the frostbitten streets of Tokyo. My thoughts wandered everywhere as I placed a chocolate Pocky into my mouth, chewing slowly as I looked around the businesses, small and big alike, that decorated the populated city. My mind went back to the phone call I had earlier with my mother. It was her fault that I was outside on a freezing day wandering about the bustling streets of Tokyo.

'_You can't live off of a simple allowance forever, Miki,' _she had said, _'You're going to have to get a part time job sooner or later so you can pay for rent all on your own. Quit spending everything you get on those sweets of yours and grow up already.'_

I remembered how she had threatened to take away the money she was sending me for rent, saying that if I didn't get a job by the end of the month then I would be cut off for good. My own mother had threatened to leave me to fend for myself; money or no money! Then again, what she was doing was for my own good. At least, that's what she was telling me.

I sighed once more, glancing around the streets for anything that seemed even the slightest bit interesting to me. My eyes suddenly caught sight of a small café, my attention immediately on it as I made my way over to it. If I was going to look for a job, I might as well stock up on some sweets and what better place to do it than a café? As I walked up to the small building, my eyes were drawn yet again to something else that seemed to easily catch my attention. In the window, perched perfectly atop a small, plastic display case was a sign with bright red letters reading HELP WANTED.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought," I muttered to myself as I happily entered. I walked up to the counter, getting the attention of one of the employees, "Hi, I saw the sign in your window saying you were hiring and I was wondering how I would go about getting a job here."

The employee smiled, saying that she would get her manager for me. I nodded, leaning against the counter as I patiently waited for them to come back. Meanwhile, the sound of a bell rang through the small café and I quickly turned around, watching as a honey blonde girl made her way to the counter I was leaning against.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" She asked, glancing at me up and down.

"Not at the moment, but I will soon enough," I said confidently, smiling sweetly at her.

She sneered at me, causing me to frown at her sudden change in attitude. She turned back to the counter, waiting patiently for an actual employee to come out and help her. I huffed slightly, continuing to lean against the counter as I eyed her up and down, taking in the fluffy coat she was wearing to keep her warm, the long, blue skinny jeans hugging her legs, and the expensive looking heals that adorned her feet. She seemed a bit prissy, maybe even a bit spoiled, but I couldn't really tell at the moment since this was my first time seeing her.

"Ne, Yuko-san, where do you want me to place all this stuff?"

I looked towards the door again, hearing the familiar jingling of the bell attached to it. Watching as a boy with red hair and deep blue eyes walked in, I felt a harsh nudge on my shoulder as the honey blonde girl I could only suspect to be 'Yuko' quickly turned to address the boy.

"Oh, no need to be so formal with the honorifics Eiji," she said, her attitude quickly changing to that of a sweet, innocent girl, "You can just find us a nice table to sit at and place the stuff there. I'll get us some coffee."

The boy nodded, shifting from one foot to another as he carried multiple books—along with two bags, a couple packets of paper, and what appeared to be a laptop—to a table that was in the back of the small café. I frowned, feeling sorry for him. His girlfriend was obviously working him to the bone carrying all those things while she was left with just a small purse.

"Okay, our manager should be with you in a few minutes," the employee I had spoken to earlier said as she came out from behind a corner. When she noticed the blonde girl next to me, she quickly went back to work, asking the girl for her order. Again, the snippy girl put on a sweet façade as she ordered a couple of coffees.

I looked back at the redhead, my sorry feelings for him quickly sinking as a new feeling came about; I couldn't help but feel as if I had seen him before.

**Chapter Ends**

**A lot of things have to do with this one small café, don't they? Maybe I should just change the title of the story to something that relates to that, huh? Anyways, I'm not going to make any promises on my next update so until next time, this has been another update of ****Rematch in the Game of Love****!**


	6. Getting the Job

**Okay, okay, I know it's been like, what? Nearly half a year since I've actually updated this story? In all honestly, I am extremely sorry. I wanted to get finished with other things before I focused on this story (mainly my other Prince of Tennis story, Fortunate Misfortune) and now that those things have been taken care of, I can start focusing more on this story. Good news though! I am on summer break and have made a promise to myself that I will try to update AT LEAST three times before the end of summer! (Because we all know how lazy I am…) Well, enough of my apologies! If all of my readers are still out there, let's get this party started!**

**Chapter Begins**

_Birds chirped happily in their nests, a gentle breeze softly rustling their feathers enough to stir them awake from their late afternoon naps. The trees they sat in swayed slightly with the wind, soft green leaves gently falling from their branches only to dance down to earth. Clouds in the sky lazily crawled across the vast blue canvas, merging with their fluffy white companions every now and again to make a barely noticeable picture in the sky. All these things together could only mean one thing: spring was on its way._

"_Eiji, slow down," a girl's voice yelled, her laugh following soon after, "I'm sure whatever you want to show me will still be there even if we decide to slow down."_

_Said boy shook his head, tugging on the girls hand some more as he lead her deeper into the park. "I told you, I want us to be the first ones there! Plus, it's getting a little late and you'll have to go soon!"_

_The girl pouted, glancing around the park in all directions as the boy continued to tug her on. "We're the only ones here! Of course we'll be the first ones if there isn't even anybody else in the park!" Making that little observation, the girl started to wonder why the park was so empty at this time. Back when she lived in this town it was almost always filled with couples aging from their early teens to young adults all the way to the elderly._

"_There's a festival on the other side of town," the redheaded boy said, answering her unspoken question._

_That comment only managed to push her deeper into confusion. "Then why are we at the park? Wouldn't you rather go to the festival and have fun?"_

_Eiji smiled to himself, finally stopping at his destination as he turned to face the ebony haired girl he had brought along with him. He squeezed at her hand that was still tightly intertwined with his own, watching as she continued to give him an adorable pouting face. He laughed at her expression, giving her one of his signature smiles as he finally decided to answer her. After all, the moment was just right._

"_If I had taken you to the carnival, I wouldn't have been able to share this moment with you alone."_

_Just then, the sound of spraying water reached the girl's ears and she immediately turned to see where the noise was coming from. She gasped at the sight, putting her free hand to her gaping mouth. Just a few meters from where the pair of teens were standing was a fountain. The girl quickly noticed that the fountain that was once calm was now turned on at full power, making the underwater jets spurt forth, causing a beautiful array of colors as the last rays of sunshine gently bounced off the mist the fountain created._

"_Wow," the girl breathed, turning to face her bouncy companion, "Eiji, it looks so pretty! I'm so glad my mom drove me down here so we could hang out again."_

"_I knew you would like it," the redhead boasted proudly, showing off how well he knew the girl by now, "Nya, too bad it has to end so soon…"_

_The girl nodded, shifting some of her dark locks of hair behind her ear. A few moments of silence passed between the two teens as each one of them stood still, watching the sight before them. It was only when the girl heard Eiji speak her name that she turned once more to look at him. She blushed noticing how close he was becoming, his face slowly making it way towards her own. Five inches, four inches, three inches, she could feel his breath, two inches, she wondered if he could hear her heart, one inch, this was it…_

_Wait. What was that ringing noise?_

* * *

I woke up slowly, stretching my arms and shoulders first as I slowly sat up in bed. From my side I could hear my alarm clock's constant nagging, telling me that it was time to get up. Staring at it, I suddenly missed my mother and how she would always be the one to wake me up in the morning. The constant cries of a shrieking alarm clock could never replace my mother yelling at me to get out of bed. Almost instantly, I reached over, pressing a few buttons on its smooth plastic surface before it finally shut off, leaving me in utter silence. I blinked a few times, staring at the time on the clock, but not really comprehending what I was seeing. My mind was focused on other things. Things like my dream. Or should I consider it a memory?

I yawned loudly, thinking about that day as I let the images play through my mind once more. That incident had happened years ago, back when I was still in my first year of high school. It had been five, maybe six months since I had seen Eiji after leaving Seigaku and I had finally convinced my mom to drive me down there so I could spend a day with him. It had been great. We spent the majority of the day catching up with each other and some other old friends like Oishi and Fuji, but at the end of the day, Eiji insisted on taking me somewhere before I had to leave for home. I smiled, my hand faintly caressing my lips as I remembered what happened after that.

A faint buzzing sound jolted me out of memory lane and I looked passed my alarm clock to let my eyes rest on my cell phone, its soft vibrations slowly making it inch towards the edge of my desk. I caught it in my hand before it could fall towards its doom, glancing at the caller ID.

"Fuji, why would you be calling so early?" I questioned the tensai, finally coaxing my legs to swing off the bed and onto the floor.

"Don't tell me you forgot already," the brunette chuckled on the other end of the line, "We have to go meet Takada-san today. I wanted to call to make sure you got up in time. After all, our meeting with him is in an hour."

I gasped, looking at my clock again to actually look at the time. "Oh my gosh, I almost forgot about that!"

Quickly jumping out of my bed, I ran to my open closet to look for a suitable outfit to wear to the meeting, wondering if it would be too informal to just go in jeans and a blouse. On the other end of the phone line, I could hear Fuji chuckling, his sadistic laugh causing a shudder to run down my spine. He had known I would forget about the meeting. I don't know how he knew, but I knew that he had known and that he had planned to call me an hour before our meeting, just so he could put me in this situation. He was definitely the same Fuji from my Seigaku years.

"Well now," he said, his chuckles finally dying down, "I guess I should leave you alone so you can get ready." With that, he said a quick goodbye as he hung up on his end.

Snapping my phone shut, I muttered some choice words about the tensai as I turned back to my closet, picking out the first outfit that my hands could grasp. Looking it over, I gave a curt nod of approval as I quickly made my way into my bathroom to take a shower and get ready as soon as possible.

Fuji's POV

It had been around forty minutes since I had called Tsuki on my cell phone, only to find that she hadn't gotten ready for our meeting yet. Hopefully she was ready by now, but it would definitely be a little interesting to see what would happen if she were late for this meeting. As for the meeting, I started to wonder what it was about. Obviously we had gotten the jobs otherwise Takada-san wouldn't have bothered arranging a meeting for us to come see him, but why did he want us to come together? Maybe we were going to get our first assignment today, Tsuki as a journalist and myself as the photographer. If that was the case, what would we be looking at today? It certainly wasn't going to be something big like a crime or big event; we are only rookies after all.

As I pondered on these ideas, I subconsciously found myself walking towards my destination, safely making it to the small office building I had had my interview at. I put on one of my famous smiles, noticing that the same secretary I had seen the last time was still seated at the front desk looking as bored as ever. I sat down in one of the waiting area's chairs, not bothering to ask her about my appointment as I knew full well that I was more than early. As I sat, I looked at the camera I had strapped loosely around my neck. I had bought it only a month and a half ago so, compared to my other cameras, it was relatively new. It had cost a lot of money, most of which I had sadly borrowed from my parents, which was why I was looking for a good job. I had to pay them back somehow, right?

"Fuji, I'm surprised you got here before I did."

I looked up towards the doorway, watching as Tsuki entered hastily, an over the shoulder bag in her arms. I was assuming it was full of things the typical journalist would need, seeing as she should've come to the same conclusion I had come to this morning.

"You forget that I live only a few blocks away from here, whereas you live a few miles away," I said, watching as she sat next to me, placing her bag on the seat on her other side before placing her hands in her lap, "I don't think even the fastest car on earth could get you here before me."

She chuckled lightly at my joke, putting a hand up to cover her mouth. "You never know. Maybe one day they'll create a teleport machine."

"Then I would teleport here myself, wouldn't I?"

She stared at me a bit dumbfounded for a while before playfully punching my arm, muttering something about me being a smart aleck. We both chuckled at our slightly childish conversation before it slowly died down into a comfortable silence. I glanced at the clock on the wall opposite to us, noticing that our meeting was supposed to start five minutes ago. Usually I wasn't one to be too nitpicky about meetings, as long as it wasn't my fault it started late, but I couldn't help but wonder why our future boss hadn't called us in yet.

As if on cue, the door behind the reception desk slammed open, seeming as if it was ready to rip off its hinges. As the door slowly stopped bouncing against the wall it had made contact with, Takada-san decided that was his cue to make his appearance. Stepping out of his office, he gave a heart laugh turned to face somebody else. That's when I noticed another man emerging from the small room, a smile on his facial features as he spoke to Takada-san. I paid little attention to their conversation, seeing as it wasn't any of my business since I didn't know the man. I watched as he walked away from Takada-san, bidding the rotund man a farewell as he walked out the front door.

"Ah, Fuji-san, Amagumo-san, I'm glad you two came," Takada-san said as he walked towards us, stopping a few footfalls short of where we were sitting, "I'm sorry that our meeting is starting late. I was just talking with an old friend of mine. Please, step into my office."

We both nodded and got up from our seats, passing by the balding older male. Stepping through the doorframe, I quickly glanced around the room and saw two armchairs before a wooden desk. Behind the desk was a big spinning, leather chair.

"Have a seat, have a seat," Takada-san said as he entered behind us, closing his office's door, "Now I'm sure that you've figured out that you both have been hired, yes?"

"Yes sir," Tsuki said, smiling as she sat down in one of the plush armchairs. I nodded in response, following after her as I sat in the other armchair.

Takada-san smiled at us, nodding in satisfaction, "Good, well then, let's just cut to the chase and discuss your first assignment, shall we?"

Eiji's POV

"Have a nice day, come again," I said excitedly as I watched another pet owner walk out with her cute pet cat.

I sighed heavily after the elderly woman had left, glancing at the clock behind me. It had only been an hour since I had arrived at work and I had another four hours to go before I could take my break. Looking over at the book I had sitting next to the cash register, I picked it up, deciding that reading it would be better than doing nothing, even if it was one of the history books I had to study. Picking up the heavy book, I flipped to the page I had left off on and began reading. I was only a few sentences in when the bell at the front of the store rang, signaling that a new customer had arrived.

"Hi Eiji," a sweet voice said.

Looking up, I noticed the familiar honey blonde female by the name of Yuko. She was standing in front of the counter, her hands on her hips as she smiled at me with her full lips covered heavily in shiny pink lip gloss. I looked her up and down, my eyes drinking in her appearance; soft blonde hair curled slightly to give it a cute, bouncy look, that same fluffy coat she wore the day we went to that one café with what seemed to be an extremely tight tank top underneath, showing off her womanly curves. Sitting up in my seat slightly, I could see she was wearing a denim mini-skirt with legging that went down to mid-calf. I wondered slightly to myself how she could wear such thin clothing on a cold winter's day.

Her soft laugh quickly brought me back as I stopped staring at her figure and returned my gaze to her eyes. "Ah, Yuko-san, what are you doing here?"

I watched her smirk. "I told you not to bother with the honorifics Eiji," she said, shaking her head from side to side with a smile on her face, "Anyways, I came here to see you. Do you want to go out for something to eat? We could study together some more."

I blushed lightly, hoping she couldn't see. Boy was she straightforward or what? "Ah, well, I don't have a break for a few hours. Maybe we can get something to eat during lunch?"

I watched her smile before she leaned in close to my face, placing a short, sweet kiss on my left cheek. This time I could literally feel the blood rush to my face as I looked at her with widening eyes. She merely giggled, giving me a wink as she walked towards the front door.

"See you for lunch, Eiji."

With that said, she turned and walked out the door, leaving me still sitting at my seat, red in the face with embarrassment. As she walked away, I couldn't help but stare at her retreating figure until I couldn't see her any longer. What was this feeling I was starting to get?

**Chapter Ends**

**Gasp! When are Tsuki and Eiji finally going to meet! What is the feeling Eiji gets around Yuko? What kind of 'first assignment' is Takada-san giving Fuji and Tsuki at the moment? All this and more in the next chapter of ****Rematch in the Game of Love**!


	7. Seeing You

**Hello my fellow writers and readers! Here we are again for another wonderfully suspenseful chapter of ****Rematch in the Game of Love****!**

**Chapter Begins**

"I wonder where we can find all these places."

"I'm sure it won't be that hard; it's only a few small businesses after all."

Fuji and I had just left Takada's office and were now currently in my car, on our way to the local shopping center. Our assignment was to interview a few new businesses that had just opened up, all of them wanting their own tiny little ads in the paper to promote their business. Fuji, of course, was only there to take a simple picture of each place.

"What the name of the first one we need to go to," I asked, glancing sideways at Fuji before placing my eyes back onto the rode as the car before me came to a slow stop.

"Second Chance Pet's Shop," Fuji replied as he unfolded the paper in his hand to take a look at the list of stores.

I raised a brow, the name of the shop seeming vaguely familiar somewhere in the back of my memory. Hadn't I seen it at the mall the last time I went there with Miki? I'm pretty sure it had been the same shop she came out of when I came back with her lunch.

"I know that place," I said after a while, slowly pulling into the shopping center's main parking lot, "Let's go there first."

Fuji nodded and I quickly found a spot to park, excited for my first job ever. I stretched my tired arms as we stepped out of my small car, quickly turning back towards the dashboard. I reached in to grab my notepad and pen; it'd be horrible for me to forget them on the first try. I looked over to Fuji, watching as he grabbed his camera and placed the strap around his neck so it wouldn't fall and break. I gave him an onceover and started to giggle, causing him to look at me with a questioning stare.

"You look like a tourist," I said as I closed the door to my car, locking it with the key.

He chuckled as well. "Well, how do you think a normal photographer would dress?"

I thought about it for a moment as we walked into the mall side by side. How would a photographer dress? Looking back at him, I gave him another onceover as my mind started to wander back to those really old, cheesy movies my dad always loved to watch. I remembered how the journalists and photographers—always men—would dress in pinstripe suits and silly hats with a piece of paper sticking out of them.

"You should get a fedora."

We both laughed as we continued to walk passed many shops, me leading the way as we walked towards the food court. Once there, I looked around, my hand shading my eyes as I searched the slightly familiar store. Where had it been again?

"There it is," Fuji said, pointing it out. My eyes slowly looked to where he was pointing, finally noticing the sign that said in bright coloring 'PET SHOP'.

We swiftly made our way through the food court and I reached out to open the door to the pet shop, hearing the stereotypical jingle of a bell sending a signal to whoever was working there. I heard somebody in the back room call out, saying he would be right there to help us. Leaning against the counter, I took in my surroundings, watching every detail of the store. I decided to jot down a few notes about the atmosphere in here, hoping it would help me when I actually had to right the small article for the shop. It actually felt relaxing to be in the pet shop, seeing as how all the animals weren't making loud noises like they were distressed. In fact, they seemed to comfortable and at home in their cages, almost as if they weren't in cages at all. I smiled and glanced over to where the kittens were. Miki was right, they really were cute.

"Hey there, how can I help you today?"

I turned to see a young man with brown hair and eyes. His eyes traveled to Fuji's and then to mine, seeming to linger there for a moment as he smiled in my direction.

"We see couples coming in here all the time to get a pet. What would you like? Cat? Dog? Bird?"

I blushed a light pink, waving my hand around in protest, "Oh, no, we're not a couple. You see, we're reporters," I gestured to my notepad and Fuji's camera, "And I wanted to know if the manager was here so I could interview him."

The guy seemed to gain a newer, happy look to his eyes as he looked me up and down. I could only imagine what was going through his mind as he happily nodded and went back through the back door. I sighed and turned back to Fuji, watching as he gave me a knowing glance. Apparently he knew what was going through the guy's head as well.

"I'm going to be heading out for my break now."

"Yeah, have fun on your date man. By the end of the day, I bet I'm going to have one too."

I furrowed my brows together at the two voices in the back room; one of them had sounded familiar. Well, both of them had sounded familiar, but it was the first one that really had me confused. It sounded like someone I knew, someone I hadn't seen in a while. I decided to keep my eyes one the backroom door, watching for the person who would step through it.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but have fun."

And that's when I knew exactly who it was.

"Eiji?"

I stared wide-eyed as the redhead walked out the backroom door, his steps faltering when he spotted who was standing near the counter. At first, he had not noticed me and his eyes were on Fuji, then gradually his eyes lowered to look into mines. His own dark blue eyes widened as he looked at me, his mouth falling open slightly. I smiled as I looked over his appearance, noticing the familiar curly red locks, his shining blue eyes, his tall and broad build now fit for a young man. I noticed that the bandage he would always have on his cheek was no longer present; he must've outgrown that phase of his life.

"Uwah, Tsuki-chan, is that really you?"

His bright smile that I remembered returned to his face as he walked over to me, giving me a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around him in return, laughing at his response to seeing me. It was like we had only seen each other last week. Unraveling me from his hug, he held me at arms length, staring at me with bright eyes and his famous pearly white smile.

"I haven't heard from you in forever, nya; not since high school at least. What are you doing here?" He glanced up at Fuji, "And with Fuji?"

I laughed, "Fuji and I are here on our first job. I'm going to be interviewing the manager for a small ad in the paper."

Eiji nodded, giving a small sigh of some sort. "We should hang out. Maybe after you get the interview done?"

I shook my head, "We have a few more places to hit before our job is done," I said, giving a small nod in Fuji's direction, "Besides, I heard that you have a date you need to attend to."

As if on cue, the door to the pet shop let off its signature jingle as someone stepped through. I turned around, shifting out of Eiji's grasp to see who had come through the door out of pure curiosity. I watched a blonde girl walked in, her bright smile slightly fading as she looked at the people before her. She seemed to be around my age, but I couldn't tell for certain. I glanced back at Eiji, watching as his eyes looked over to her, his jaw going a little slack. Was this person a regular costumer?

"Hey, Eiji," she said, her voice sweet as she skipped over to where we were standing, "I was wondering what was taking you so long, so I came to check up on you. Who's this?"

"This is Tsuki-chan," he said slowly, his eyes never leaving her, "She's my… uh…"

"I'm his friend," I interrupted, smiling at the girl before us. Now that she was closer I could tell that she was slightly taller than me.

"Oh," she said simply, giving me a glance before smiling a bit smugly, "My name is Yuko. I'm Eiji's _girlfriend_."

From my peripheral vision I could tell that even Eiji was surprised at that statement. I, however, decided not to show my surprise. Instead, I put on a smiling façade that could maybe even rival Fuji's. She was obviously not expecting me to smile for her own smile faltered a bit as I spoke to her.

"That's sweet. How long have you two been together?"

"A few days," she said, and I nodded. She was still looking at me even when Eiji coughed at the awkward silence that had seemed to consume the area. "How about we go catch a movie, Eiji? I'll wait for you outside."

With that said, she leaned in closer to him, planting her lips upon his. His eyes widened in surprise like it had been his first kiss that she had just stolen, but slowly, he relaxed, eyes glazing over with a mix of emotions. I looked away, slightly disgusted with the public display of affection. It's not that I hate couples who suck face in public—I had done it once in a while in my lifetime after all—but something about it being one of my best friends, and used to be boyfriend, made my stomach churn like I wanted to puke. I glanced over to Fuji, seeing that he seemed to be just as uncomfortable as I was in the situation. Finally, after what seemed to be a decade and a half, Yuko got off of Eiji and walked out the door, not before giving him a flirtatious wink.

"Did someone ask to see me?"

I looked over to the backroom door, giving a barely audible sigh of relief as I saw the manager walk through the door. "Yes, you see we're from the small newspaper company the owner contacted. I wanted to get a few words from you to put into the article."

"Oh, right," he said, running one of his hands through his graying hair, "He mentioned something about that. Would you like to talk here, or in the back?"

"Here is fine," I replied, getting out my pad and pen. I glanced back at Eiji, seeing that he had now come out of his daze and was looking at me, "Hey, I think your girlfriend is waiting for you. Don't worry; we can catch up another time."

"A-ah, right, see you then…" With that said, he turned and ran out the shop's door.

I looked after him, frowning as the jingling of the bell echoed in my ears. Suddenly I didn't feel as enthusiastic for my first interview as I had been earlier.

**Chapter Ends**

**What's this? Tsuki and Eiji have finally met face to face, but… Why isn't it the happy meeting we were all hoping for? And what was that sickening feeling in the pit of Tsuki's stomach when she saw Eiji and Yuko kissing? Do people even read this thing? All this and more in the next chapter! See you all next time!**


	8. Jealousy Denied

**Oh my, summer vacation is nearly over which means updates will come on by even slower (not like they came by fast anyways). The good news, however, is that I've finalized the plotline so updates will hopefully come by at least once every couple of months. Well, let's get on with the story, shall we?**

**Chapter Begins**

"Wow, it sounds like a really horrible experience."

I nodded, swirling my straw around in the tall plastic cup full of ice. I stared at the small puddle of light brown liquid at the bottom of the container, muttering to myself that I needed some more iced coffee. A tapping on the table brought my attention back to my friend before me, her frowning face filling up my vision as she continued to speak.

"That's kind of a harsh way to find an ex again after years of never talking with each other, but you can't exactly expect him to stay single forever right? What did she look like? I bet she's not that great."

I shook my head. "That's just it, Miki. She's gorgeous; tall, long honey blonde hair, and a huge bust. She exactly the kind of girl almost every guy fantasizes about."

"Wow, she does sound gorgeous…"

I glared at Miki and she shrank back a bit with a look of apology. "But, you're right. I shouldn't have expected him to stay single forever. It's only common sense that he would get another girlfriend after me. Heck, she's probably not the first one he's gotten after me." I sighed, stirring the ice in my plastic cup around once more. "But when I saw her kissing him I just couldn't feel a little bit…"

"Jealous?"

"I wasn't jealous," I said, snatching away one of the many Pocky she had before her, "I just felt awkward around them. It's not everyday you see a couple making out in a pet store."

Miki scrunched up her face in disgust, placing one of the many chocolate treats she owned in her mouth. I sighed and chewed on the chocolate Pocky slowly, my eyes wandering around the food court lazily. My eyes wandered to the pet store where I had been yesterday, my mind replaying what had happened. Eiji wasn't working today—I had checked earlier—and I had forgotten to get his number, so I couldn't ask him if he wanted to join me and Miki on our weekly shopping trip. I wonder if he would've said yes. Then again, maybe he wouldn't. After all, I'm willing to bet he'd want to hang out with his girlfriend on his days off.

"Well then, come on," Miki said, interrupting my thoughts as she stuffed her box of Pocky back into her purse, "No use just sitting here and moping, right? Let's hit some more shops before I have to go back to work!"

"You're right. Come on, I know cute store on the other side of the mall." As we stood, grabbing our previously bought items from their place on the floor, I couldn't help but comment on Miki's new attitude towards work, "You know, I didn't know you could be so excited about work."

"Well, the job isn't all that bad. I mean, it's a cute little café full of coffee and sweet treats, so it's my kind of place." She reached into her bag, emphasizing her point by pulling out a small piece of chocolate before dropping it into her mouth. "Plus, it pays well enough for me to stick with my addiction."

I rolled my eyes, snatching away another piece of chocolate from her before she could eat it. "Honestly Miki, most girls only eat loads of chocolate when they're depressed. For you it's like an everyday thing! How is it you're still skinny? What do you do, walk everywhere?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," she laughed, "Not everybody can afford a car, you know."

I shook my head, a faint smile on my lips as we continued walking through the overcrowded walkways of the shopping center. I continued talking with Miki, our ears oblivious to all the other chatter around us as we became engrossed into our own conversation. I would glance at her to make a point every so often, my peripheral vision keeping me from bumping into anybody. It was when she had made a ridiculous statement that I placed my full attention on her, causing me to bump shoulders with somebody and for the bags in my hands to tumble down to the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a kind voice said, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

I watched as the guy stooped down to pick up my bags, ignoring my protests, before standing up tall and handing them to me. He held my bags out to me with a kind smile on his face that seemed to reach all the way up to his brown eyes.

"No, it was my fault," I said as I gratefully took my shopping bags from him, "I was talking with my friend here and I didn't take notice of who was in front of me."

We both nodded and I was about to walk away with Miki when the guy's voice stopped me short.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel as if I know you from somewhere."

"Is that a pick-up line?" I asked, looking at him quizzically.

He blushed, his hands going up in protest. "Oh, no, I mean it honestly! I can't help but think as if I've seen you some where."

I looked him up and down, taking in his features to see if I could notice him from anywhere. Tall figure, almost a head above me, short, slightly wavy silver-gray hair, and dough brown eyes. His eyes seemed to give off a very kind persona, almost as if he had never sinned a day in his life. He had a bit of a baby face as well, making him look slightly younger than what he probably was.

"Well," I said slowly, "I go to the local college that's near here. Maybe I know you from there?"

"I don't think so," he said, still scrutinizing me, "I don't go to any colleges near here. Maybe from high school? Did you perhaps go to Hyoutei for high school?"

"Nope, but it sounds familiar." I thought about the name of the school, wondering where I had heard that name before. I don't think I heard it anywhere when I was in high school. Maybe I had heard about it earlier when I was in middle school. "Oh, wait, that's it," I said, snapping my fingers in realization, "Hyoutei was that one school I went to for a tournament when I was attending Seigaku! And you, I think you were that one guy I bumped into while I was there. Wow, do you really remember that far back?"

"Eh, not really," he said, an arm behind his head in an embarrassed manner, "But I do remember where I saw you before. I was over at a friend's house earlier and saw a picture with you in it."

"Ne, you know one of Tsuki's friends?" Miki, who I had just noticed had been quietly watching the conversation, piped in, her smile directed towards the both of us.

"Ah, yeah," the guy before us said bashfully as if he had just now noticed Miki, which was probably the truth, "Oishi, actually. We became acquaintances in college and I was over at his house yesterday for an assignment since we have a class together. I noticed that he had a few pictures on his table where I was waiting and I couldn't help but glance at the one on top."

"Oh yeah," I said, remembering that we had taken a bunch of pictures the day of the reunion, "Oishi said he'd be developing those pictures soon and that he'd send me some copies. Oh, by the way, my name is Tsukiakari Ushiro-Amagumo, you know, since we haven't exactly spoken to each other since we were like, really young. This girl next to me is my best friend, Miki Sakurai. And your name is…"

"Choutarou Ootori," he smiled.

"Well then, it was nice meeting you again Ootori-san, but I think Miki and I should get going." I smiled and waved a bit in a farewell gesture, but once again his voice stopped me.

"Uh, I know it's kind of sudden and that we don't really know each other that well," he started off, his blush from earlier returning, "But I was kind of wondering if you'd like to grab some lunch with me later."

I looked at him in surprise, "Oh, well, actually Miki and I just ate." Instantly I saw his face go from embarrassed to dejected and I felt a bit bad for turning him down, so I quickly came up with something. "But you know, maybe we can go out for lunch tomorrow after classes end? Here in the food court?"

He looked at me, his smile slowly returning, "Sure, that would be good too."

We both nodded and I waved once more as he finally let me make my leave with Miki. As we walked away, I couldn't help but wonder what I just got myself into. Beside me, I could hear Miki going off about something and I decided to tune in to see if I could tell what she was talking about.

"…and I know your little plan missy. I can see it written all over your face so don't even think about lying to me about it."

"About what, Miki?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"You're using him, Tsuki," she said, pointing an accusing finger at me, "You were jealous about Eiji and that blonde chick so now you have to go find a guy to make him jealous."

"What, Miki, that's a crazy idea," I said, frowning at the idea that she would think that I was thinking that, "I would never use anybody like that. Besides, it's just a simple lunch date. I don't think it's going to make anything drastic happen."

This time it was her turn to role her eyes as she sighed. "Well, if you're sure that nothing like that is going to happen. Just don't let your jealousy blond you of other peoples' feeling, okay?"

"Miki, I am not jealous!"

**Chapter Ends**

**A bit of a short chapter, but a short chapter is better than no chapter, am I right? Well now, if I remember correctly, I had a few readers who wished that Choutarou would appear more in the previous story so I decided, why not add him to this one? After all, I needed a character to fill in this little blank spot in the plot and… I'm going to stop before I reveal anything. Well, see you all in the next chapter of Rematch in the Game of Love!**


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